The objective of the “Authority and its Discourses” conference is to reflect first on the discursive strategies whereby authority is constructed, manifested, resisted, and overthrown and, second, on the representation of authority in popular, literary, and media discourses, among others. What role does authority play in political and social organization? Should one plead for stricter or more flexible authority? Is authority the waning, dated concept that it is thought to be or has it merely put on a new garb and borrowed new discursive techniques? What are, precisely, the rhetorical strategies deployed by authority holders all through history? And what similar or different strategies of resistance come to overthrow these holders and replace them by new authority representatives? These are some of the questions that the conference will attempt to answer.

Whether their subject be authority in politics (election campaign speeches, for example), in academia (the teacher/learner relationship), or in culture (patriarchal authority), all proposals pertaining to the conference theme are welcome. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Authority and politics:

Authority and propaganda

Authority and censorship

The discourse(s) of colonial domination

The discourse(s) of resistance

Opponents, dissidents, trade unionists

“The Empire Writes Back”

Authority and gender:

The discourse(s) of patriarchy

The discourse(s) of feminism

Authority and literature:

Representation of authority in literature

The hierarchy of literary genres

Literary canons

Literary prizes and institutions

Literary influence

Authority and academia:

Knowledge and authority

Quotations and authoritative argument

The evolution of the teacher/learner relationship

Please send a 250-300 word proposal and a short bio-bibliographical note to autoritediscours@yahoo.com by March 15th 1014. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by April 30th 2014.

There is no registration fee. The organizers will provide meals and accommodation, but participants will have to cover their travel/transportation fees.

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